Die Dienststelle Dr. Mühlmann Organisierter Kunstraub in den Niederlanden unter deutscher Besetzung in den Jahren von 1940 bis 1944 M A S T E R T H E S I S RADBOUD UNIVERSITEIT NIJMEGEN FACULTEIT DER LETTEREN KUNSTGESCHIEDENIS Auteur: J.C.J. Vermeulen Studentnummer: 4629825 Emailadres:
[email protected] Eerste begeleider: Prof. Dr. V. Manuth TWeede begeleider: Prof. Dr. B. de Klerck Woensdag, 30 augustus 2017 ABSTRACT The Department Dr. Mühlmann – The organized art theft in the Netherlands under German occupation in the years from 1940 to 1944 by Jan Vermeulen In 1940 the Austrian art historian Dr. Kajetan Mühlmann set up an office in Den Haag, which functioned as a clearing house for art expropriated during the occupation of the Netherlands. This agency, headed by Mühlmann, became known as the “Dienststelle Dr. Mühlmann”. The following thesis deals With the organized art theft in the Netherlands under German occupation in the years from 1940 to 1944. It starts with Mühlmann’s biographic background and his political alliances to National Socialism in Germany and its members. These bonds are important because they led to his task in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands the Department of Dr. Mühlmann worked with different organizations. Although the “Dienststelle” had a small internal structure, it had a large external network. As well the internal construction of the department as its external contacts will be discussed and explained within the thesis. After the main characters of the “Dienststelle” are revealed and the different tasks which consist of the registration of important artworks and collections, different ways of procurement and in the end their sale, the complex system of the Department Dr.